


With Every Ten Drinks, Get One Free (Sugar Daddy)

by A_Tsundere_In_A_Sweater



Category: Aldnoah.Zero (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Sugar Daddy, Cruhteo is nice don't worry, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:41:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24478897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Tsundere_In_A_Sweater/pseuds/A_Tsundere_In_A_Sweater
Summary: As it turns out, there is more than one sweet thing to be found in a coffee shop.
Relationships: Cruhteo/Slaine Troyard, Saazbaum/Dr. Yagarai
Comments: 1
Kudos: 24





	With Every Ten Drinks, Get One Free (Sugar Daddy)

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by [this post](https://awful-aus.tumblr.com/post/120363147810/awful-au-314) that I saw years ago, and has been consuming my thoughts ever since. 
> 
> In this au, Cruhteo is neither mean nor prejudiced, and Slaine is a college student, so please don't attack me. 
> 
> Thank you as always to Masumi5 for being a fantastic beta and screaming with me in the middle of the night about a/z!

The low murmur of voices and quiet whirring of machines greeted Slaine as he pushed open the door of the cafe and stepped out of the bitter cold. Late January had brought with it the biting chill of winter wind. 

Gently letting the door swing closed behind him, Slaine stepped into the inviting warmth and headed towards the counter. Although the cafe seemed to be slightly busier than usual, there was no wait to order, and within minutes, he sat down at his usual table in a corner, drink in hand. 

With his old laptop set up on the table before him, Slaine began filling in his name, student ID number, and course access code before starting the exam. 

He had decided to take medical geography, one of the online courses that his university offered in his major department, as the scheduling of the physical version conflicted with his math credit. The professor had assured Slaine that the online coursework would pose no issue, and so far he had been correct. The information was digestible, due dates were flexible, and there was always the option to speak with Dr. Yagarai during his office hours whenever Slaine had questions. 

The spotty wifi connection in his dorm had posed a small challenge, but thankfully, the cafe he frequented provided free wifi of a decent caliber. So there he sat, ready to take his semester exam in a cafe that boasted "all organic teas" with fancy names which were, in Slaine's humble opinion, a ploy to pawn chai tea off as something life-changing. While not fooled by elaborate and unpronounceable names, he couldn't complain about the quality or the price. Additionally, the location was desirable - set back from the main thoroughfare of the city in a brightly-painted older building. As a result, it had retained a certain degree of quaintness, with a warm atmosphere and outdoor seating on days when the sun peeked out from behind the clouds. 

After taking a sip of his peach and hibiscus oolong tea, Slaine began his test. He made his way through the first half of the exam without much difficulty. The content covered was familiar and the questions were easy to comprehend and answer. As he silently thanked Dr. Yagarai for not choosing to make the exam needlessly difficult, he was interrupted by a notification on the side of his laptop screen. 

_ "Battery currently at 5%. You might want to plug in your PC." _

That couldn’t be right. It had been fully charged when he left campus an hour ago! His computer may be old, and sure sometimes the Y key got stuck, and maybe the bottom corner of the screen was a tiny bit cracked, but it still worked. Replacing it would be expensive, and he didn’t have the extra money around to replace something that wasn’t completely broken. However, it had never had a battery problem before, and he hoped that it was a one-time occurrence. A frantic search through his bag revealed that he had, by some miracle, brought his power cord with him. With a sigh of relief, he bent down to plug it into the outlet below his table, only to find that there was no outlet present. On any other day, the solution would be simple: move to another empty table with an outlet, and continue. Unfortunately, after glancing around the cafe, Slaine realized that nearly all of the outlets were currently being used by other patrons. The only one not in use was situated under a table across the cafe where a blond man sat. 

Really, this was just Slaine's luck. The thought of interrupting this man and moving to his table stopped Slaine for a moment - honestly, how rude would that be? However, a quick glance at his computer gave him a metaphorical push forward in the form of another message. 

_ "Battery level critically low. 4%." _

There was absolutely no way he could let his computer die in the middle of the test. He only had one chance to complete it, and while he may be in Dr. Yagarai’s good graces now, he wasn’t sure he could ask for a retake because he was too embarrassed to move to another table. Rudeness aside, he would just have to convince this man to let him sit at the same table and use the outlet. 

Slaine quickly gathered his things, and made his way over to the man. Whatever book he was reading was quite large, and Slaine was mildly intrigued. If it weren't for the fact that his computer was slowly - or rather quickly, as it had now fallen to 3% - dying, he would have debated asking the man about it, as he seemed quite absorbed by it. 

With a steadying breath and a silent prayer, Slaine hesitantly addressed the man. 

"Ah....excuse me?"

If he had thought the task daunting before, it's difficulty had now increased exponentially. The man was, to put it simply, intimidatingly attractive. As he turned towards Slaine, he revealed golden hair pushed up and out of his face, and striking ice blue eyes. He viewed Slaine with a rather indifferent expression, although a slight downward tug of his lips suggested that he was not pleased to have been pulled from his reading. 

“Yes?” the man asked. 

“Um...hi. This is going to sound very strange and forward, but I'm in the middle of an online exam and my computer is about to die,” Slaine began, with a weak gesture to himself and his computer, “and you are sitting by the only free outlet.” He paused, and took a deep breath, having rushed through the first part of his explanation. “Would you mind terribly if I sit here? Please? I promise I won't be a bother, I just really need to take this test, and I'll leave right after I'm done!” 

Slaine figured his desperation must have come across clearly enough when the man replied simply.

“As you wish.” 

“Thank you so much!” Slaine’s reply fell on deaf ears, as the man had already turned back to his book. 

Not that it mattered much. Slaine was looking for an outlet and a quiet place to finish his exam, not an attractive conversation partner. Although, he had to admit that an attractive conversation partner like the man before him would not be unwelcome. That is, if the man didn’t hate him by the end of this. 

It seemed to be one thing after another that day. When he had gone to plug in his computer, he had hit his head against the table while sitting back up, causing the man to look up and regard him with a cool stare that felt a lot more like a glare, the more Slaine thought about it.

If that hadn’t been enough, every click of his mouse and tap on his keyboard seemed one thousand times louder when he was trying not to disturb the peace that this man had built around himself. Even with his best efforts at keeping quiet - a valiant attempt to barely press on the keys - there seemed to be no way to stop the annoying tapping sounds. Eventually, Slaine had given up on his wireless mouse - honestly, the clicking had never been that loud before, had it? - and migrated towards using the touchpad. While certainly not as efficient, it was quiet, and that was all that mattered at that point, in Slaine’s opinion. 

All of these factors, when put together, kept Slaine on edge while completing his exam. He did his best to concentrate on the questions on the screen in front of him, and not the regal features of the man sitting an arm’s length from him. Perhaps it would have been better to just let his laptop die, and then try to explain the situation to Dr. Yagarai later? That would have been easier to handle than sitting across from a man who he had so rudely interrupted - and one who looked like those men wearing suits that fit perfectly in fancy men’s clothing ads. 

In spite of his inner turmoil, Slaine pushed through the rest of the exam, breathing a sigh of relief when the screen stated that he was now finished, and that results would be available for viewing within the next three days. 

Without looking up, Slaine unplugged and closed his laptop as gently as possible, and quietly slid it into his bag. He stood silently, and pushed his chair in, leaving things exactly as they were when he had arrived. When the man had still failed to look at him, Slaine politely cleared his throat, gaining the man’s attention. 

“Thank you very much for allowing me to sit here. I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that I may have caused you,” he said, bowing at the waist. 

The man turned towards him, and gave a small nod of acknowledgement. 

“There is no need for an apology.” 

“Ah…” Slaine started, unsure how to reply. This man truly was intimidating. His words were curt, yet not unkind, making it clear that he had no interest in continuing the interaction. “Then, I hope you enjoy the rest of your day.” 

“You as well,” the stranger - Slaine had never gotten his name - replied with another nod. 

Seeing that the man had turned back to his novel, Slaine indulged in one final glance at his profile before making his way back to campus. 

* * *

“And what did he say?” Nina asked, her sandwich left forgotten on her plate in favor of listening to the story being told.

“He said ‘as you wish,’” Slaine replied simply, taking a sip of his water. 

“Was he hot?” Inko pushed, causing Slaine to choke slightly. 

“He was...not unattractive,” Slaine said hesitantly, “But that’s not the point here!” He added quickly. “It was so embarrassing! And I felt so rude! He was clearly annoyed that I interrupted him.” 

“Ah, it’s just like the beginning of a love story,” Nina sighed, “Keep going, I’d like to hear how this ends.” 

“It’s not-! This isn’t-!” Slaine spluttered, gesturing wildly with his hands, “Anyways, he said yes, I sat down, finished the exam, thanked him, and then left.” 

“What?! That’s it?!” Nina and Inko exclaimed, drawing the attention of a few other students in the cafeteria. 

“I don’t know what you were expecting, honestly,” Slaine sighed, taking a bite of his sandwich. 

“Something more than you just walking away. That was a totally perfect opportunity for you to strike up a conversation with a super attractive man. Get his name, maybe a number,” Nina argued, waving a fry around in her hand to get her point across. 

“I’m telling you, he very clearly did not want to chat. And what do you mean, super attractive? I never said that.” Slaine argued, growing weary, and beginning to regret bringing the story up at all. 

“You didn’t have to, your face gave it away,” Inko pointed out while she stood and gathered her things. “I have to get to class, but promise me you’ll talk to him next time you see him.” 

“I think you mean if I see him again - which is very unlikely. I’d never seen him there before,” he replied, and stood up to leave as well, Nina following suit. 

“You never know! Maybe your paths are fated to cross again,” Nina sighed. 

Slaine laughed and waved goodbye to the girls. As he headed to his next class, any thoughts of the blond man were pushed out of his mind. 

* * *

“So,” Saazbaum began, and the tone of his voice indicated that whatever came next would be troublesome, “Has anything interesting happened lately in your dull life?” he finished, a smile on his face.

The image of a young blond with an embarrassed smile and desperate eyes flashed briefly in his mind before he answered, “...No.” 

“You hesitated.”

“I did not,” he insisted, cursing Saazbaum’s ability to read him. He supposed it was the unfortunate result of not ignoring the man when he first met him ten years ago. 

“You did. You didn’t even argue that your life isn’t dull. So what happened?” Saazbaum pried, leaning forward slightly with an interested gleam in his eyes. 

“If you must know, I met an intriguing boy at a cafe,” Cruhteo said simply.

“Oh? A barista? How cliche. Go on,” Saazbaum laughed. 

“He was a customer, and due to certain circumstances, he ended up at my table,” he explained. Saazbaum only raised an eyebrow, indicating for him to continue. 

“I’m guessing he is a student at the local university. He approached me, explained that his computer was dying during an online exam, and asked if he could use the outlet underneath my table.” 

“And you let him,” Saazbaum stated - not a question, but a prompt. 

“Yes. He left after he finished his exam.” Something in his voice must have given him away, because Saazbaum immediately jumped to an unfortunately correct conclusion. 

“But you didn’t want him to? That’s unlike you.”

“Whether or not I wanted him to is irrelevant. He was attractive, but quite young. I imagine he thought I was rude. It is unlikely that I’ll see him again.”

“But you want to?”

Not for the first time, Cruhteo began to regret having such an observant coworker.  
“Do you enjoy asking questions you already know the answer to?” he quipped. 

“Immensely. Either way, seeing him again is easy. Just go to the cafe until he shows up,” Saazbaum offered, as though it were incredibly simple.   
“And what would I do if I saw him again?”

“Start a conversation. Buy him a drink, ask to sit with him, tell him you’re obsessed with him. You have plenty of options.” 

“Hilarious,” Cruhteo replied flatly.   
“No, I’m serious. Talk to him, learn his name, exchange numbers, invite him to lunch,” Saazbaum’s tone was genuine and his eyes serious. 

“That...could work,” Cruhteo pictured the blond boy sitting across from him at a nice restaurant, his hesitant smile from before growing into something larger and brighter, perhaps as a result of something Cruhteo had said. 

“Of course it’ll work. Trust me. How do you think I got married?” 

“Wearing him down until he felt sorry for you?” Cruhteo threw back, remembering how annoying it had been to watch Saazbaum try to win the doctor over from start to finish. It had taken an alarming number of late-night drinking sessions over the years to handle Saazbaum’s persistent whining. 

“It worked, didn’t it?” 

Cruhteo rolled his eyes. 

“Listen, all I’m saying is that you should give yourself a chance. This could be good for you,” Saazbaum insisted, “Aren’t you lonely? I’m basically the only person you hang out with outside of work. I’m your coworker, so does it even count?” He may have muttered the last part under his breath, but Cruhteo still heard him and frowned. 

“Alright, alright. If only you put this much thought into your project proposals,” he sighed. 

“I’ll have you know-”


End file.
